Reflecting Pool Contractor Reports Localized Polyurea Bonding Failures
Atlantic Industrial Coatings has provided a new public update on repairs to the recently installed polyurea liner at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
In its Sept. 21 status update, AIC said it met with the National Park Service July 20 to inspect the pool and agree on needed repairs. The company said it later returned with a third-party inspector, submitted a final report to NPS Aug. 14 and began repairs Aug. 17. AIC said NPS accepted the report.
“Some areas of the polyurea liner did not bond fully,” the company said. AIC characterized the work as a warranty repair and said adhesion pull tests performed around the remaining liner did not produce a failure. The update listed Sept. 25 as the estimated completion date but did not confirm that the repairs had been completed.
AIC separately attributed approximately 175 linear feet of damage to vandalism and said those areas would be repaired under a change order after receiving NPS approval. That attribution represents the contractor’s position. The company did not publish the third-party inspection report or detailed test results with its update.
The National Park Service has extended the Reflecting Pool closure through Oct. 20. NPS said repairs and restoration work remain underway and require the use of heavy equipment. The agency also said additional work is needed to repair blocked circulation-system infrastructure and that the pool must remain empty while the work proceeds. The notice does not attribute the entire closure to the liner repairs.
The project began in April as an effort to clean the pool, repair joints and install a lining intended to reduce the need for future repairs, according to the original NPS project notice. The initial closure was expected to end June 10 but has since been extended several times.
The contractor’s latest statement adds to information contained in a July 31 government motion to dismiss a criminal case involving alleged damage to the pool. The filing summarized Interior Department and contractor records describing blister repairs, overspray, delamination and discussions about bonding-agent application during installation and subsequent inspections.
As PCI previously reported, the filing characterized overspray and failure to bond as the predominant issues discussed during a July inspection. It also outlined a proposed repair process involving removal of failed material, power washing, surface abrasion, bonding-agent application and recoating. Those descriptions reflected the government’s assessment of the records and did not constitute an independent engineering determination of root cause.
The available records establish that localized bonding problems occurred and that warranty repairs were initiated. They do not establish a final independent root-cause determination for all damage observed across the pool or assign contractual responsibility for each affected area.
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